Three Charged in Hampton Home Burglary

Cranford police charged three persons with burglary and theft on April 20 in connection with a residential burglary that took place at an unoccupied home on Hampton Street over the previous weekend. 

Charged in the incident were Melanie Ciullo, 28, from Cranford, James Veltre, 51, from Roselle Park, and Brian Winslow, 29, from Elizabeth.

Police initially responded to a report of a burglary at 6:05 p.m. on April 18 after a relative of the homeowners noticed that the rear door of the residence appeared to have been forced open. The suspects took a flat screen television, several credit cards and jewelry valued at over $1,000. No one was home at the time of the break-in and the residence had been unoccupied for several days.

Several hours after the report, the three listed suspects were detained in Woodbridge when they attempted to use the stolen credit cards to make purchases at a mall department store. All three were arrested and charged with credit card fraud in Woodbridge. They were committed to the Middlesex County Adult Correction Facility in lieu $20,000 bail.

Additional investigation by Cranford Police Department Detective Ryan Greco linked all three suspects to the burglary and theft on Hampton Street. In addition to the charges lodged in Middlesex County, all three were charged with burglary and theft (both third degree crimes), as well as credit card theft (a fourth degree crime) in Cranford.

Police Chief Eric Mason praised the investigation and interagency cooperation that led to the arrests.

"The system worked exactly as it should," he said. "Shared information and hard work in this case led directly to this crime being solved." 

Bail on the Cranford charges was set at $25,000 each.

Ciullo, Veltre and Winslow are still held in Middlesex County pending an initial court appearance in Union County Superior Court on Monday.